The International Living Future Institute (ILFI) is the organization that developed the criteria for the Declare Label, which is a nutritional label for products that includes intentionally added ingredients that are at or above 100 parts per million. Toxnot, now part of 3E, is the software system utilized to create Declare Labels as well as other types of reporting, such as Digital Product Passports. Manufacturers can also have their Declare Label third party verified through assessors designated by ILFI.

Photo courtesy of Photo courtesy of Mannington Mills

Declare Label and HPD Product Example.

Photo courtesy of Photo courtesy of Mannington Mills

Health Product Declaration Example.

The Health Product Declaration® (HPD) has a standard that was developed by the HPD Collaborative (HPDC). The HPD Open Standard provides a standardized format for reporting material contents of a building product and associated material health, transparency, and environmental impact information. Product manufacturers have to comply with requirements in the HPD Open Standard and there is an optional HPDC Third Party Verification Program available, similar to the Declare Label.

For LEED v4.1 BD+C and ID+C both Declare Labels and HPDs are utilized to meet the Material Ingredients credit. For Green Globes – NC, the information provided in Declare Labels and HPDs can be used to contribute to Product Risk Assessment and Sustainable Materials Attributes credits as outlined in the Green Globes – NC Technical Reference Manual and HPDs can be used to contribute to the Materials Renovations and Procurement – Cycle Renovations credits as outlined in the Green Globes – Existing Building Technical Reference Manual.

THE "EASY" BUTTON: FINDING CERTIFICATIONS, ECOLABELS, AND DECLARATIONS FOR RESILIENT FLOOR COVERING

One of the challenges to specifiers and subcontractors is easily finding the various documentation to meet building rating systems, including LEED v4.1 and Green Globes-NC. As a result, the Resilient Floor Covering Institute has created a dedicated ecomedes database site for resilient floor covering.

A user can create a “project” and then add products and relevant sustainable and material health documentation to the “project." This provides all of the various certifications required by the building rating systems that would be needed for resilient floor covering products. The provision of a “one stop shop” approach to easily correlate the information that would take much longer if going to each database provided by each different label and/or certification body. Information is regularly updated by connecting to the reporting and certification organizations, so that data and documentation are current.

In addition, ecomedes is also the database that powers mindful Materials (mM) and provides search filters for Product Category, Brand, Certifications and Ecolabels, and Rating System, and an additional filter for the mM Common Materials Framework. This includes Human Health, Climate Health, Ecosystem Health, Social Health and Equity, and Circularity.

For convenience the same login used for the main ecomedes database, the RFCI ecomedes database, and mindfulMaterials can all be the same, in addition to other specialized databases for the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), the International Interior Design Association (IIDA), and the General Services Administration (GSA) Sustainable Facilities Tool (SFTool) product database utilized for finding EPA recommended specifications, standards, and ecolabels and compliance with Federal Programs.

Photo courtesy of Photo courtesy of Resilient Floor Covering Institute (RFCI)

RFCI ecomedes resilient floor covering database: https://rfci.ecomedes.com.

Photo courtesy of Photo courtesy of mindful Materials

mindful Materials portal powered by ecomedes: https://portal.mindfulmaterials.com.

CONCLUSION

It is important to understand how certifications, ecolabels, and declarations can fulfill building rating system criteria for LEED v4.1 and Green Globes certification systems. Both material and indoor environmental quality (IEQ) credits can be fulfilled through recognizing applicable products and their environmental and material health attributes. Product categories that have aligned their product certifications with the building certification systems provide an opportunity for specifiers to be assured that if products have various labels, then they meet the criteria required by building rating systems and have been rigorously evaluated by third-party program operators and/or certification bodies. This is a collaborative process that correlates various requirements into easy-to-identify labels and certifications through “behind the scenes” intentional coordination efforts by manufacturers, such as those providing resilient floor covering solutions, and trade associations, such as the Resilient Floor Covering Institute, to verify compliance and integration of reporting for ease of use by specifiers. Utilizing ecomedes provides an efficient and easy way for design professionals and building contractors to find documentation on an open-source database to meet their project needs.

Jane M. Rohde, AIA, FIIDA, ASID, CHID, ACHA, LEED AP BD+C, GGA – EB, GGF, EDAC , is a healthcare architect and sustainability consultant and sits on various healthcare and sustainability committees supporting research, advocacy, and humanistic approaches to design. www.jsrassociates.net